A supercritical wing delays the formation and reduces the size of shock waves over the wing at transonic speeds (just below and above the speed of sound), the speeds at which most jetliners fly. All new large jetliners now feature this highly efficient, drag-reducing wing design.

This is an image of Winglets-small vertical fins on wingtips-reduce the strength of wingtip vortices (air swirling off the ends of the wings). Most airliners feature some type of winglet to help decrease drag.

The exhibition features this cockpit diplay with a computer-simulated takeoff and landing of an Airbus A320 from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The A320 was the first airliner equipped with a glass cockpit and digital fly-by-wire flight controls, which provide more information to the pilot while enhancing safety and efficiency. Pioneered by NASA and the aerospace industry, the glass cockpit was introduced in 1982 and is now the industry standard.

This image shows American rockets, built after World War II and used both for military and civilian endeavors. After World War II, the rocket foreshadowed a new style of warfare in which nuclear bombs could be delivered quickly across the world. War might begin--and end--suddenly, decisively, without warning. As the Space Race began, the United States and the Soviet Union were building rockets to use as long-range weapons. The United States initially favored bombers, but the Soviets preferred missiles and thus took an early lead in rocket technology.

Piloted by A. Scott Crossfield, on November 20, 1953, the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket became the first aircraft to fly faster than Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. Air-launched from a U.S. Navy Boeing P2B-1S (B-29) the swept-wing, rocket-powered D-558-2 reached Mach 2.005 in a shallow dive at 18,898 meters (62,000 feet).

The D-558 series of aircraft was developed by Douglas under the direction of Edward H. Heinemann for the U.S. Navy to explore transonic and supersonic flight. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the predecessor to NASA), used this Skyrocket, the second one built, to explore the flight characteristics of swept-wing aircraft. It set several other speed and altitude records before the program ended in 1956.